


Shriveled Blossom

by Fernshiine



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Love, Love Confessions, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:48:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26518498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fernshiine/pseuds/Fernshiine
Summary: Sakura Hano is horrified when she finds out that Naruto Uzumaki was killed by the love of her life, Sasuke Uchiha, when the Kohona 12 were trying to save him from following a dark path to train under Orichimaru. As she is grieving for her friend she wonders how she could have ever loved someone with such a dark heart...Rock Lee can see that Sakura is in despair and will do whatever it takes to avenge her broken heart. But what if Sakura rejects his attempts to cheer her up and bring light to her life once more?
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Rock Lee
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Horrible, Horrible Things

Sakura was bent over the body of a patient who had been injured by falling out of a tree. She let out a sigh as she used her chakara to work on the injured child, who had been taking part in a tree climbing contest due to bullying. It was pathetic, really, how peer pressure affected children so much. 

I wonder if Sasuke is okay...did peer pressure affect him at all? Sakura wondered, reaching up with a small and delicate hand to wipe beads of sweat from her brow. She stepped back and let the child rise to his feet.

"All done," Sakura said, adding with a stern glare, "Now stay out of those darn trees, alright? I don't want to see you in the hospital again anytime soon because you did something dumb!"

"Okay!" The kid said with a toothy grin, though she guessed he would be up to his old antics soon. He leaped off the cot she had patched him up in and bounded eagerly outside of the room, leaving Sakura to her own devices once more. She bit back a sigh and sat on the cot where she had been tending to the child, folding her hands and putting them into her lap.

A moment later a medical ninja walked into the room with a grim expression upon his face. 

"Sakura Haruno," The man said gravely. "The teams are back...they have bad news. You need to report to Lady Tsunade's office at once."

In an instant Sakura left the room and ran full speed down the hallway, sweat gathering even more intensely on her brow and slipping down her face, which was contorted in despair. 'Bad news...' The thought echoed in her head and it was all she could think of as she ran through the rather empty hospital halls and out the door. 'Bad news...bad news...Sasuke..." 

Finally she made her way to Tsunade's office, gasping for breath as she did so. In an instant Shikamaru and Kiba were standing in front of her, blocking her view of whoever else was inside.

"Let me in, please," Sakura said, panting breathlessly. Her eyes were wide. "I heard there was bad news, PLEASE let me through!" 

"I would...but you won't like what you see," Shikamaru said. There was a strange intensity in the lazy ninja's eyes that Sakura wasn't used to. It sent ugly chills down her spine.

"No," Kiba said firmly, his gaze locking onto Sakura's intently. "You will not recover from what you see and hear. We can't let you see."

"Let her in," Neji's calm yet firm voice made the two boys look around in surprise. Neji walked between them and faced Sakura, his expression grim. "She'll find out sooner or later. It would be wrong if she had to find out on her own as opposed to finding out with the support of fellow comrades around her when she hears the news."

Shikamaru and Kiba exchanged a swift glance. Shakamaru shrugged and walked away, while Kiba just sighed, defeated, and turned his back to them.

"Fine," Kiba muttered under his breath. "But I sure as hell didn't intend on hearing more girls cry today."

Sakura stiffened, Kiba's words sending more chills down her spine, as well as outrage. A part of her wanted to punch Kiba out for assuming she was some sort of cry baby or something, but another realized that that would be senseless, for she knew whatever news she would hear it wan't going to be good news. What he said also implied that girls had already cried...

"Neji, what's going on?" Came Tsunade's crisp voice. Neji was blocking Sakura's view but she didn't think he intended to...or she didn't know if he did, at least. 

"Sakura has arrived," Neji replied calmly. "Kiba and Shikamaru didn't want her to come in...but I think she is brave and strong enough to face the bad news."

"Let her in, then." Tsunade replied calmly. 

Neji nodded and stepped aside, allowing Sakura to pass. Before she could even cast a single glance around the room Ino was suddenly there, flinging her arms around Sakura in a tight hug.

"Ino?" Sakura gasped, her eyes widening in astonishment. The female ninja was her best friend but she was also a rival for the love of Sasuke Uchiha.

'Sasuke...' Thoughts of him popped into her head briefly as she thought about the astonishingly beautiful male ninja who she had fallen head-over-heels for, but before she could dwell on it and wonder if he was alright, Ino suddenly cried out something that made her wish she hadn't heard a thing.

"It's horrible, Sakura! Naruto is dead! Sasuke...Sasuke killed him! He MURDERED him, Sakura! In cold blood!"

"W-what?" Sakura stammered, taking a step back as soon as Ino let go. Ino's eyes were brimming with tears, though Sakura could tell that plenty of tears had already rolled down her friend's smooth face. Before she could say more, her gaze flickered over to a cot in the center of the room and she felt sick.

Naruto Uzumaki was lying lifeless on top of the cot.

And Sasuke, the ninja who Sakura had loved with her entire being, was responsible for the yellow-haired ninja's passing.


	2. Despair

Sakura's POV

Sakura felt sick. She swayed on her feet for a moment as she took in the scene of her pale, lifeless comrade lying in the cot with his arms crossed over her chest. Shock stabbed at her heart like an icy knife and she wished there was some way that she could unsee what she was seeing. One part of her was convinced the sight of her friend lying there, dead, was fake. It HAD to be fake. Naruto was one of the strongest ninjas Sakura knew...there was no way in hell that he could ever allow himself to be defeated. Yet another part of Sakura knew what she was seeing was real. Something deep within her gut, perhaps stirred by her own chakara itself, told her that the boy lying in the cot WAS the real Naruto, and that he was gone forever.

Sakura fell onto her knees, clutching her stomach, and vomited. She was dimly aware of the other ninjas gasping in surprise and crowding around her, murmuring comforting things and asking if she was alright. The world around her became blurry and fuzzy and the people surrounding her were just a distant haze. Memories of her time training with Sasuke and Naruto were overwhelming her. Her head was pounding and her ears were ringing. She wanted to cry out for help but couldn't. Her jaw was clamped shut. Not even tears could penetrate her eyes in such a state.

Memories of Naruto laughing at her and her clocking him over the head. 

Memories of Sasuke calling his comrades "Idiots" even somewhat affectionately.

Memories of intense training with her teammates. 

Memories of Naruto giving thumbs ups.

Memories of Naruto getting himself into trouble.

Memories of Sasuke standing against a tree with a grin on his face.

All those memories were just memories. They were no longer something Sakura could look forward to. She couldn't look forward to training under Kakashi's watch while he stood in the background reading his porn or whatever the heck he read. She couldn't look forward to hearing Naruto's encouraging words or snide comments, watching in amusement as he got up to his strange antics. She couldn't watch as Sasuke and Naruto did whatever it was they did with their weird rivalry. That was gone from her world forever, something she could only remember.

Rock Lee's POV

Rock Lee cried out in surprise and hurried over to Sakura's side as she landed on her knees. The other ninjas around instantly dropped beside her as well.

"Sakura?" Lee asked softly, his voice drowned out by all the others.

"Told you she couldn't take it!" Kiba spat.

"Shut up!" Ino hissed, her eyes alight with anger and pain. Lee knew she was suffering. They all were. But Sasuke was someone she had loved and cared for, similar to how Lee wanted to be with Sakura. She was suffering heartbreak from what the person she loved had done. "We need to focus on taking care of Sakura. QUIETLY. All of you, please, step back and give her room to breath."

Lee was reluctant to leave Sakura's side. He couldn't stop looking into her eyes, which had a glazed and distant look. She wasn't with them right now. Not in spirit. She was in some other world, it seemed, perhaps lost in memories of time spent with her comrades. He jumped back and gave her some room, though he couldn't handle the thought of her being in such a state.

When she looked up again tears finally started spilling down her face. Her features contorted in agony and she let out a scream that shattered Lee's soul. 

He knew at that moment that everything in her life would never be the same.


End file.
